October marks five quarters since I took on a role to lead Cisco’s Internet of Things (IoT) Systems and Software Group, a critical business for Cisco to help organizations connect the unconnected. And, wow, what an incredible time it has been. I’m so proud of the many team accomplishments—from the IoT System launch with 15 new products on the market, to the daily innovations and unbelievable culture we created—it truly has been an honor to lead this group and make a difference for Cisco and you—our customers—worldwide.
As I write this blog, I’m taking on a new opportunity as Chief Technology and Strategy Officer for Cisco Services. And again, I find myself working on something incredibly exciting —helping our customers transform in this digital age.
This digital age poses new challenges and opportunities for organizations. As Cisco moves to help the industry capitalize on the next wave of the Internet, I have the opportunity to bring my skills and experiences to this new challenge in Cisco Services.
Consider this—Gartner estimates that by 2020, 75 percent of businesses will be digital, or have digital business transformations underway. However, only 30 percent of those efforts will be successful. That statistic is astounding and shows how important it is to act now and start changing organization, culture, and business models for success in the future.
So how do we ensure mutual success on this digital journey?
From conversations I’ve had with many of you, I know most companies are looking for help transforming into digital businesses. I view Cisco Services as a critical capability to help our partners and customers succeed. Whether it is technical consulting, implementation management, managed services, or our world-class support services, customers rely on Cisco to help them transform and succeed.
That is why I’m so excited to join the Services organization and use my experience to continue to drive change for Cisco, our customers, and partners. Similar to IoT, I’ll work to uncover new strategic opportunities to deliver business outcomes for you and help you reach your goals through connective services. I’ll look under the hood at all our great innovations across engineering, our impressive technical community, and across the company to test new ideas and push the envelope with our service offerings.
I believe Services has the power to play a crucial role in speeding access to the value that comes from connecting everything, and innovating everywhere, and I’m humbled to play a role in helping Cisco in its Services evolution.
What are some things your organization has already done to embark on a digital journey? Let’s discuss. Drop a comment below.
Congratulations on your new role, Kip. The IoT System seems like a well-rounded platform. Certainly security, data ingest, machine learning and intelligence at the edge will continue to be challenges in IoT for some time.
In terms of services, its clear that the financial sector (and others) and large enterprises are finally moving in large herds to the cloud. Managed services spanning consulting, architecting, operating are central to the strategies of cloud management & public cloud providers like Rackspace, CSC, etc.